Eterna
by finalfantasized
Summary: AU, IkeXElincia. Ike is a soldier who finds himself falling in love with the princess of his enemy's country. Sorry for the wait! there's a typo in there...at the bottom it asks if you want SethxMia? It should be BoydxMia. sorry! My mistake!
1. Chapter 1

This is the chapter one of this story! It's AU, so dont get confused if something is glaringly different. Besides, it mixed both Path of Radience and Sacred Stones characters. Please enjoy!

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"Listen here you worthless lumps of meat! This is our first real attack on Lescallia, for once we're attacking them, instead of the other way around! You had better not screw this up! If I see any one of you men half-assing it out there, you can be sure that you'll not live past the next day." The commander spoke the last words of his speech in such a deadly calm that even the most battle hardened soldiers shuddered in fear. The commander began to relay the plans for the attack to each regiment, making sure that everyone knew where they were supposed to be at what time. New recruits were up first, taking the brunt of the enemy's retaliation so as to keep the veteran soldiers safe and ready to fight. 

One of the younger recruits shifted the sword on his waist nervously as he heard his duties being shouted to the entire army. To him, rushing headfirst into an awaiting army didn't seem like the smartest of ideas, but then again, he was new at these kinds of things, maybe it was the best way to go. The thought of it still made his body tremble.

"What, you scared? C'mon, I wont let any of the big bad Lescallians hurt little ol' Ike." The larger boy next to the blue haired soldier teased.

"Shut up Boyd! No way am I scared…" The axe-wielder smirked in response and returned to attention. Swallowing his nervousness, Ike too snapped back to attention before the two of them were caught talking. Being seen not listening to the commander could cause serious problems for recruits like them. The punishment could range from having to clean the barns everyday with forks, to being kicked out of the army. It all depended on how sadistic the general felt that day.

Finally the call to begin the march was heard and the entire mass of the army, fully decked out in armor, began to lumber its way across the border between the two warring countries. The sound of their synchronized steps sounded like the beat of a heavy drum resounding through the land. Villagers living in the nearby towns came by to cheer them on, shouting good tidings and sending prayers that their sons would return to them safe and sound. The soldiers did not even send a sideways glance to the ever growing crowd. Their minds were completely on the approaching battle. Questions flew through their heads at amazing speeds. Would they live to see victory? Would the army even make it past the first enemy lines? Lescallian forces were notorious for their durability. It was rare that any of the first charge even made it to the enemy, for their archers were a force to be reckoned with all on their own.

The group marched for hours and hours before reaching their desired camping grounds. Tents were staked and a meal of stew was made from whatever could be found in the nearby woods and lake. Ike picked wearily at his food despite the gnawing hunger he felt in his abdomen. He was sure that he was too nervous about the following day's battle to actually keep anything down. Lost in thought, the young soldier barely registered his larger friend sit down heavily beside him and begin eating the so called stew. He didn't even notice when Boyd oh so quietly pulled the still full bowl of food away from the dazed boy and started eating it himself.

Spoon still in his mouth, the green haired warrior began poking his friend in hopes of bringing him back to reality. Ike came out of his daze with a jolt, whipping his head around to find the person causing that insufferable pain in his side. Boyd tried to say something around the spoon but it wound up coming out as a garbled mess of sounds.

"Mind repeating that, and must you poke so hard?!" The smaller soldier asked, exasperation thick in his voice.

"Geez sorry, don't get your panties in a knot _Ikette_." Boyd exclaimed raising his hands in submission and letting the spoon drop unceremoniously from his mouth back into his bowl. "I said, nervous for tomorrow?" Ike simply nodded, covering his face with both his hands. "Hey, don't worry about it, we'll stick together. I won't let anyone hurt you, and you had better not let anyone near me or I swear on my own axe that you will regret it." The other boy chuckled slightly before letting a troubled sigh escape his lips. "Look, why don't you just eat something and go to bed, it'll be a long day tomorrow, and I don't want you passin' out on me while we're marching or anything, alright?"

"You're right…" The blue haired swordsman sighed again and reached for the spot where his bowl had once sat. Raising an eyebrow, Ike slowly turned his head towards his warrior friend who shrugged while slyly sliding one of the empty bowls in front of him towards another of their companions.

"Guess someone else ate your food while you were spacing out huh. Good thing I saved you some bread right?" He said while grinning. Ike, having seen his bowl being moved to another area, just rolled his eyes and accepted the bread.

The next morning crept up on the two soldiers faster than they had expected. Weary from the days march, the friends had fallen into such a deep sleep that it hardly felt as though they had even closed their eyes. Before they knew it, one of the lower officers was outside their tent, yelling for them to be up and ready to go in a matter of minutes. Franticly throwing on clean clothes and strapping on their armor and weapons, they quickly wolfed down their morning meal and took apart their tent in record time. No use in being late to their first campaign. The army formed up into their lines faster than seemed humanly possible and Ike realized that the upcoming battle was nearer than it had ever seemed before. To him, the fight had always seemed years away, and now, in only a few hours he would be fighting for his life, for his fellow soldiers, and for his country; and he was scared. A reassuring hand landed on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Boyd smiling down at him. Offering his own smile, the two quickly snapped to attention when the first shout from the commander was heard.

The first set of information that was thrown at them was a repeat of the battle tactics. Then the call to march came loud and clear through trees, signaling them to move. According to the information they had managed to glean from some of the higher-ups the evening before, the army was only one or two hours away from the battle grounds.

No one spoke, and silence pressed in on them from all sides; the only reprieve from the deafening lack of noise was the sound of their armor plated boots on the cold hard ground. Ike's mind felt blank. Not a thought passed through his mind. He knew that he should be going over battle tactics or thinking about the upcoming skirmish, but for some reason he couldn't think. He felt mesmerized by the way the armor on the man in front of him scraped back and forth across itself with each step the soldier took. The continual beat of their shoes on the dirt floor seemed to leech all sense of coherency from him.

Boyd looked over at his blue haired friend worriedly. They boy had been really out of it all morning and had hardly touched his breakfast. Not to mention that Boyd himself had eaten his dinner the night before, and was feeling rather guilty about it now. Nudging his slight friend in the side seemed to bring the young swordsman to his senses. And along with his senses came a fear that penetrated Ike's entire being. Watching the younger boy's already pale face whiten even further he quickly mouthed, 'Don't worry', in hopes of calming him down. Ike took a deep breath and, with the knowledge that his best friend would always be near, attempted to calm his fraying nerves and prepare for the fight.

Finally the group broke the line of trees separating them from the field where the battle was going to take place. They were near a fort, one of Lescallia, and they could see that sentries had been placed at every possible point of entry, plus there were one or two watch towers. There was no way they would be able to get anywhere near the fort unnoticed.

The army was called to a halt just outside of the forest. It was only a matter of time now before the enemy troops would come pouring out of that building. Ike could feel his hands begin to shake as his nervousness was aroused anew. He gripped his sword tightly, when were they going to begin the attack? They weren't cowards, he realized. They were going to wait until the entirety of the other army was in formation in front of them before beginning the assault. Attacking an army that was still inside their quarters would be as bad as stabbing a person in their sleep. It was the coward's way of doing battle.

One of the sentries standing guard in front of the main entrance was the first to sound the alarm. Ike could only stare dumbly as what seemed like thousands of Lescallian soldiers filed out of the front gate and formed up into organized regiments. The recruit looked up to the heavens for support and saw the sun gleaming harshly down on the land. It didn't seem fitting to have such a beautiful day be the date of such a huge battle. Whenever he had heard stories of wars from ages past, Ike had always pictures the sky to be heavily overcast, maybe even raining, to represent how the gods were upset over the blood about to be shed. Now though, he felt like their deities were pushing them onwards, egging them towards their deaths.

Being the invaders, Escado was the first to attack. The commander shouted something incoherently, but everyone knew what it meant. Ike and Boyd rushed forward with the rest of the recruits, their weapons shining in the midday sun as they fell upon the enemy. The two forces met with a clash, swords falling on flesh and metal alike. A rain of arrows fell upon them and Ike could only watch in horror as a few of his allies were felled.

Hearing the sound of someone moving towards him, the blue haired soldier raised his sword to meet the axe that the man rushing towards him wielded. He gasped as the weight of the attack forced him to his knees. The next blow came at the side of his head, and once again he blocked, only to be sent sprawling on the grass that was already slick with the blood of others. Quickly rolling away from the blade that came down at him, Ike saw his opening. The man's axe had gotten stuck in the hard ground and he was left helpless as the boy he had been attacking rose from the ground and plunged his sword into the junction between his helmet and body armor. A terrible cry was rent from the soldier's torn throat as he slumped to the ground on top of his still buried axe.

Everything around him began to slow as Ike pulled his bloody blade from the corpse lying haphazardly in front of him. His breath caught in his lungs as he stared in horror at what he had done. All sound seemed to stop and the edges of his vision blurred. The only thing in focus was the body, and his blood soaked sword he held limply in his hand. Falling to his knees, the boy watched as another enemy soldier, lance at the ready, came at him. The thought that this could very well be the end of him didn't register, it didn't matter. Body numb, he stared ahead as Boyd cut down the approaching soldier. He shouted something to Ike, but the blue haired recruit didn't hear it, he just continued to stare at nothing.

Boyd couldn't believe what he was seeing. What was Ike doing, just sitting there? Could killing one man have really done this to him? The axe-wielder cursed to himself as he saw another enemy approach his friend, thinking that it would be an easy kill. He knew that he was too far away to reach Ike in time, so taking careful aim; he hurled his weapon at the unsuspecting soldier, catching him in the side of the head. Dashing over to his friend, he began to shake him in order to snap him out of his stupor. The only response he received was a pair of dulled eyes sliding up to stare through him. A slight shudder racked Boyd's form as he stared at those lifeless orbs.

"Ike! Ike, what the hell are you doing? We're in the middle of a battle for god's sake, get a hold of yourself!" He yelled over the racket. There still was no response from his friend. Cursing again, he quickly searched for his axe. "Alright fine, if you're gonna be like this, then I guess that I'll just have to protect you right? After all, I did promise." This seemed to catch Ike's attention.

"No, don't worry about me, I'll handle myself." He mumbled.

"No way, I said I'd make sure nothing hurt you, so you just sit back and relax, I'll take care of everything." With that he smirked and brought his axe up to his shoulder where he knew that if someone attacked him, he could move it quickly enough to parry the blow. If Boyd was good at anything, it was manipulating Ike. The two had a fierce rivalry going between them despite their obvious friendship and he knew that by saying that he would protect the younger man, that Ike would make sure to do as much fighting as possible to keep Boyd from getting all the glory. Not to mention the bragging rights that the larger boy would get.

Ike of course, played right into his friend's plans. Gripping his sword tightly he made sure to attack the person that just begun to fight the axe-wielder. Grinning at his success at getting the other recruit to get off the ground, Boyd continued to slash at his opponents.

Completely immersed in their own separate battles, the two didn't notice as they slowly became farther and farther apart. The younger recruit, having blocked another blow aimed at his face, found himself backing away from the soldier he was fighting. This man, Ike could tell, wasn't very skilled, but he attacked so quickly and harshly that the boy had no time to retaliate. All that he could do was block blow after blow. He felt his back hit something hard and, chancing a look behind him, saw that he had been backed into a tree at the edge of the forest. Another hit came flying down on him from above, and once again he was sent to his knees from the force of the impact. The man didn't back off however. Ike could feel his muscles straining as his opponent continued to push down on his sword. Pushing back with all his might, the blue haired soldier managed to put a few more inches of space between him and the clashing swords.

Suddenly, an immense pain shot through him, originating in his side and moving to consume the rest of him. Crying out in anguish, Ike lost his hold on his sword and fell on his uninjured side. Gasping for air, he glanced down at the source of the immeasurable hurt near his rib cage. The injured boy barely had time to register the arrow sticking painfully out of his abdomen before his opponent's sword came crashing down at him. Scrambling to his feet, he grabbed his sword out of reflex, and stumbled blindly out of the way of the soldier and into the woods.

The sounds of the battle began to fade as Ike made his way deeper into the forest. Clutching his wound tightly, he slowed his pace to a jagged limp and cast his eyes around him, looking for a good place to rest where the enemies wouldn't easily find him. The ground he trod upon was covered with stones and roots from the nearby trees and despite how carefully he was watching the ground, Ike still managed to get his foot caught on a branch and he wound up in a heap on the ground. The young soldier lay still for a minute, allowing his aching body to rest. Even though his limbs felt completely drained, his mind was so full of thoughts that it almost overwhelmed him. The most prominent idea floating through his head was, _Am I going to die?_ The thought hadn't occurred to him when he had first joined the army. All that had mattered was getting money for his family back home. His thoughts began to wonder about what would happen to his family should he perish.

All he had wanted was to be was like his father; strong, dependable, and someone that his family could trust to keep them in their home with food on the table. While his father had been one of the higher-ups in the army, the rest of them had always lived a rather comfortable life, but he had been badly injured during a battle and they had had no idea what was going to happen to the family. They had thought that they were going to have to sell the house and move to the city, where it was difficult to find decent jobs. That was when Ike had enlisted. If his father could be so successful, why couldn't he? It had never occurred to him that he might get injured too. And now, he might even wind up dead.

Gritting his teeth, Ike promised to himself that, if for no one else, he was going to live for his family. Slowly, the blue haired soldier lifted himself off of the ground; the closest he got to standing was kneeling on his hands and knees. The boy panted fiercely from the effort and couldn't help but notice how his arms shook just from the simple task of getting up. Realizing that he couldn't get himself onto just his two feet, Ike began to crawl painstakingly slowly forward. Finally managing to get himself over to a tree, the recruit slumped down to the ground. Glancing back over to where he had been laying down, he saw, with slight revulsion, that a rather large puddle of his blood had begun to seep into the ground. The boy looked down to where he was holding the wound, the arrow still protruding from his abdomen. Gingerly poking at the area surrounding the arrow, Ike figured that the smartest thing to do right now would be to remove it from his side. After wiping his bloody hands on the grass surrounding him, Ike took hold of the arrow's shaft and gave it a tentative tug. His vision began to fog as pain engulfed his entire being. The injured boy had to bite down the scream that threatened to tear itself from his throat.

Panting, Ike waited for his sight to come back into focus. When it did, he found himself lying on his back, staring blindly at the canopy overhead. Looking down he saw that the amount of blood flowing from his wound had increased due to his tampering with it. He swore, trying futilely to remove his armor so that he could create a makeshift bandage from his already blood soaked shirt. His movements were lethargic from blood loss and for some reason, he found that his armor wouldn't move. The problem, he realized, was that the arrow had literally nailed his armor to his body. He took a deep breath to steady himself then once again gripped the end of the arrow. It was now or never, he decided, and pulled as hard as he could on it. This time, Ike could not stop the strangled cry that erupted. As the arrow finally came loose, his vision fogged completely, went dim, and then finally, black.

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A/N: And there you have it! Sorry if the battle scene is a little sketchy, but alas, i've never been in battle before so i'm not exactly one to get everything right. By the way, if you read my other story On the Case, you'll hear a reference to this story, so you'll get an idea of where it's going. It's going to be kindof fairytale esque...i hope. we'll see how it goes. And I have one condition, i might not update until i get at least one review. So if you actually like the story, review! so you'll get more! thank you! 


	2. Chapter 2

**I give up, even though i have no reveiws, i'm posting another part of the story just to see if i can attract anyone. i'm still sad though, not one reveiw for this! it's so upsetting! sniff...we'll...here's chapter two i guess...**

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"Do you think that the fighting has stopped?"

"Difficult to tell Princess, considering where we are and all."

"Oh, right…" The owners of the two voices had found themselves tucked behind one of the many bushes that were scattered throughout the forest when the fighting began. One of the two, a muscular man bearing heavy armor, slowly came out of hiding to see if any danger was about. "Gatrie, do you see anything?"

"No, my lady, the coast is clear." Unsure of herself, the young princess of Lescallia slowly made her way out from behind the shrub and then hurried next to her bodyguard, her posture tense. "Hey now, don't you worry, I wont let anyone come anywhere near you your highness."

"Thank you." The young royal breathed.

"We should probably find our way back to the fortress shouldn't we? Let's see here, we came from over there, so I'd suppose that that's where we should head first." At the princess' nod of approval, the two began their trek into the wilderness. Small woodland creatures scuttled away as they came near, only returning to stare after the intruders at a respectable distance. Every once in a while, the two travelers heard someone calling repetitively into the forest. The voice would grow louder as the distance between the person and the royal with her bodyguard grew smaller and, in turn, grew softer as the caller wandered the opposite way; what worried them the most was the way that the voice became more and more frantic as time continued to pass.

As the young woman and her escort skirted around a clearing, a flash of crimson made itself apparent in the corner of the princess' eye. Turning her head so as to get a better view, the girl gasped at the sight of a young soldier lying on his side in a pool of his own blood.

"G-Gatrie…do you see him?" She stammered clinging to the man's arm. At his solemn nod she continued. "We have to check to see if he is alive. His wound looks terrible." The princess rushed over to where the boy lay; Gatrie took his time in coming nearer. Gently moving the soldier so that he was flat on his back, the woman observed the damage, her eyes glancing from the open wound to the arrow clutched limply in the blue haired boy's hand. "He needs special attention; we should take him back to the fortress with us."

"I don't think that that is the best idea Princess…" She gave him a questioning glance. "Look at his armor, he's from Escado, he's an enemy. We can't trust to have him back at the fortress, especially with someone as important as you there."

"How can you say such awful things Gatrie? Enemy or not, he is injured and needs care. What kind of ruler would I be if I let someone that I could have helped suffer further just because of something as insignificant as place of birth?"

"But Princess-"

"Gatrie, we simply must help him, Escado or no, he does not deserve to be in such pain." The young woman pleaded with her guardian. The man reluctantly agreed, still wary of the idea of bringing an enemy soldier back with them. His charge thanked him profusely and helped to situate the boy on his back so as to not jolt his wound as the larger man walked.

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"Ike? Ike?! Ike where are you?" Boyd had been searching for the past hour for his missing friend. The boy had not been present for the post-battle roll call but the green haired soldier had been unable to find his body amongst the dead. One of the other recruits had said something about seeing the younger boy near the woods; that was the reason that Boyd was there now. His voice had begun to become hoarse and his legs ached from overuse but still he continued his quest. The axe-wielder was about to call again, but was stopped by a friendly hand alighting on his shoulder.

"It's late, you should stop for the night." Remarked Seth. Seth had been the captain of Boyd's section of the brigade for 3 years before the boy had joined the army. He was looked up to by many for his prowess in battle, and had quickly become rather popular amongst the recruits for his lenient punishments. Due to his past performances, Captain Seth was one of the few soldiers with a horse, not to mention that the man's steed was the only one with a brilliant white coat that shimmered in the sun on days such as this one.

"Stop?! Ike could by dying out there for all we know, and you want me to stop looking for him?!" Boyd exclaimed, throwing his arms to the side to emphasize his point.

"Listen, you're hurt, you must be tired after today's ordeal. Besides, I wouldn't tell you to stop looking for your friend if I wasn't sure that he would be ok, right?" Seth offered a small smile while gently tossing some of his blood red hair out of his eyes. "It's been a long day, get your wounds looked at and go to sleep. If you want, I can send a party out with you tomorrow to help search."

"No, there's no way I'm going to stop. I'm going to find him, I have to. He's my friend, I'm not leaving him behind. I won't let him die!" Seth felt pleased by the boy's conviction.

"Do as you will, but I'll expect you to be ready to march in the morning." He said, a smirk set firmly on his lips. Boyd quickly saluted before disappearing into the forest. Seth shook his head at the younger soldier's antics and made his way back to where the rest of the army was setting up camp.

Boyd's breathing started to become ragged as he raced through the woods as fast as his weakened limbs would carry him. Thrice he had to stop to catch his breath before forcing himself to move forward once again. Despite what seemed like an eternity to the green haired boy, it wasn't long at all until he stumbled across a trail of crimson liquid. The first thought to cross his mind was that Ike must have been horribly injured and that this path of blood would lead him straight to his ailing friend. Then common sense kicked in. There had just been a huge battle containing who knows how many men. Any one of them could have been hurt and run into the forest to escape a more serious wound. Fingering his trusty axe, Boyd followed the trail cautiously; if it did indeed lead to an enemy soldier, they might still be able to attack him and he needed to be ready.

By the time Boyd reached the clearing where the bloody trail ended, night had descended on the forest. Creatures he had never before seen came out of their underground lairs and, staying within the safety of the shadows, stalked the boy's every movement. Boyd wasn't paying attention to the animals though. His mind was focused on the only items in the area that had been made by man, Ike's sword and a blood soaked arrow. He picked up the sword with trembling fingers. He had been there when his friend had received the package. Ike had been ecstatic when he had revealed the gift. It had been his father's sword, he had told Boyd later that day, and to him, there was no greater honor than that of inheriting this weapon. The green haired boy knew that Ike would never have left his blade behind of his own accord. Gingerly picking it up, Boyd glanced around for any sign of a struggle, any hint that his friend had been taken away to the enemy's stronghold. The only thing he could find was a pair of footprints painted onto the ground in blood. Knowing he was too weak at the moment to hold his own against one, maybe two, Lescallian soldiers, the axe-wielder stumbled his way back to camp, clutching the sword tightly to himself.

Lying in his cot that night, Boyd vowed that if anyone had harmed his friend, there was going to be hell to pay.

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**well voila! there is a little bit of plot there...i really hope you like it! please review if you do! because my self esteem is going down...very quickly...and i might just get rid of it if you dont review...i mean...none? come on...someone? anyone? at least one? please?**


	3. Chapter 3

**I can finally update again! For some reason, it kept telling me there was an error whenever i tried to upload anything, but it's fixed! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story! I love you all soo much! If i knew you in real life, I would buy you all presents. Even you flamerising, may you be in peace...Now then! About this chapter! If the sap gets to be a little too much for you, sorry, i got kindof into it, not to mention i was listening to the most romantic music ever. So, on with it! (and i dont own any of these characters!)**

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The first thing that penetrated the deep haze that surrounded Ike's consciousness was the soft hum of a woman's voice. The song wafted through his thoughts and gently soothed away the pounding ache that had taken up residence in the boy's head. Ike felt like he could just lay there forever. It had been a long time since he had actually been comfortable and he was enjoying every minute of his current situation. But who was the woman singing? The song seemed fairly similar for some reason and the soldier was overcome with curiosity as to who was humming. 

As his eyes fluttered open the bright light from the open window assaulted his vision, causing him to jerk back suddenly. The voice from earlier abruptly cut off when the singer noticed that her charge was awake.

"It is good to see you awake finally, you were asleep for quite a long time you know. Is it too bright for you? I could have someone close the window, but I just thought that it was such a beautiful day." Ike slowly turned his head to look at the speaker. His eyes widened as he took in her features, from her lush green hair to her soft rose colored lips. A small smile adorned her face and her eyes twinkled in genuine joy at seeing him awake.

"She's…an angel…" He breathed. When she giggled, a blush spread itself across his face; he hadn't realized that he had been speaking out loud.

"I'm afraid that you are far too kind for I am no angel, but I thank you for the kind words." If possible, the heat that had settled itself in Ike's cheeks increased at her words. Despite his burning embarrassment, the boy could not seem to tear his eyes away from the woman sitting near to him. "Are you feeling alright? Your face is a little red; you don't have a fever do you?" She asked, allowing a slight frown to fall upon her features. "Is your wound bothering you? Maybe I should go and get one of the doctors…"

"No wait!" The soldier blurted out. At her lost expression he continued, fumbling over the words as though they were in a foreign language, "I, um, I'm fine. Honestly. I, err, need, doctor. I mean, wait, I _don't_ need…_a_ doctor…I…" The injured boy tried desperately to form a coherent sentence while pushing himself into a seated position. His body protested greatly against the movement, his sore muscles ached from lack of use and his wound burned so badly that Ike had to bite back a groan of discomfort. When his unknown savior gasped he looked down, suddenly noticing that he was lacking in the area of a shirt and that his wound had been tightly bandaged. He also noticed that a small dot of blood had formed on the white cloth and was slowly spreading into a large red blotch. The green haired woman quickly turned to one of the servants that had been standing forgotten near the doorway to run and get a doctor before pushing Ike back onto the bed.

"You should know better than to move around too much." She scolded, "Your wound was very serious, and, being a soldier, you should have known that moving around too much would irritate it and…" As she continued to rant on and on about his apparent lack of sense, Ike couldn't help but to look at her face again and the way the sun gave her skin an ethereal glow that seemed to light up the room more than the sun itself. He was so caught up in his thoughts of her that the fact that she was talking didn't register. He didn't hear a word of what she was saying past 'You should know better…". As the boy's eyes traced the outline of her cheek a thought occurred to him. He had no idea who this woman was, and yet, she was helping him.

"…Who are you?" He questioned, catching the young royal completely off guard. She blinked a couple of times before realizing that, indeed, she hadn't told the boy she had taken in what her name was or anything about her. Her eyes suddenly widened and her hands flew to her mouth in dismay.

"Oh, how terribly rude of me! I am so sorry for my incompetence. You see, you have been staying here for so long that I just felt that we knew each other and, oh how terribly _stupid _of me!" Ike smiled slightly at how flustered the girl had gotten. After berating herself a while longer, the young woman took a deep breath and continued. "My name is Elincia Crimea, and you?

"Ike. My name is Ike."

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The next few weeks seemed to pass like a blur to Ike. He was not allowed out of bed, on strict orders by Elincia, but he didn't mind as long as his rescuer stayed nearby. And Elincia never left his side. She was always there, talking with him, catering to his needs, which he made sure were very few and far between, and in general just keeping him company. Sometimes, the two would sit, or lay in Ike's case, in a comfortable silence. It was on those days that Ike first became aware of how his heart seemed to beat faster while watching the green haired woman. He would notice little quirks of hers like, when she thought for long periods of time, a pout would form on her lips and she would draw her eyebrows together only slightly, or how she would smile wistfully while looking out of the window at the gardens below. At first, these feelings troubled him. They nagged at his thoughts constantly making him forget about everything but _her_. It never occurred to him that he had absolutely no idea where he was, or that his friends might be looking for him. All that mattered was that Elincia was there, and paying attention to him. 

Unfortunately for Boyd, the time did not pass nearly as quickly. There had been no sign of Ike since the battle and with each day that went by, the warrior's anxiety grew. Multiple parties had been sent out into the woods to search but all had come back empty handed. One group had even tried scouting the enemy fortress; that group hadn't returned at all. The general was beginning to become annoyed by how much effort was being put into just one soldier and the rest of the higher-ups seemed to feel the same way. Captain Seth didn't want the green haired boy to lose hope, but even he was starting to feel doubtful about the possibility of Ike's return.

"I'm sure that if we tried sending them_ behind_ the fortress, there are less sentries there, that we could get in the place and get them out!" Boyd shouted at the distressed looking captain.

"Boyd, _no_. We're not sending any more soldiers over there. It's far too dangerous and we can't afford to lose anyone else right now."

"So we're just going to forget about him is that it?"

"Boyd there is nothing we can do right now! We're going to have to wait until-"

"Wait!?" The boy yelled as he slammed his axe into a nearby tree, "There's no way in _hell_ that I'm going to just sit here and _wait_ for those monsters to kill my best friend! If you're not going to help, then I'll just go myself!" Grabbing his axe and yanking it out of the tree, Boyd stormed into the forest in the direction of the Lescallian base.

"You'll be killed if you go alone!" Seth called after the warrior; there was no response. Cursing to himself, the red haired captain went to get his horse.

* * *

"Natasha? Could you go get some of my brother's old clothes? Ike needs something to wear if he's going to be wandering about the fortress, don't you think?" The princess said with an amused smile on her face. 

"Yes my lady but, if you don't mind me asking, don't you think that sir Kyle will be upset if you lend out his clothes?"

"Oh he's off on his campaign remember? It can be our little secret; he'll never know!" With that reassurance, the servant scurried off, presumably to get some clothes for Ike.

"Sir Kyle…he's your brother?" The still healing boy asked the princess. Sir Kyle was one of the most infamous Lescallian generals that Escado feared. He had been going on a rampage through Ike's home country when the boy had first joined the army. No one knew exactly how many people had been killed by this man and his soldiers. He had all but disappeared since then. To think, that this kind girl was his sister…

When she nodded, he continued. "So that means that, you're the princess? Of Lescallia?"

"Oh dear, I hope you are not upset with me." The green haired woman said while wringing her hands, "I didn't tell you because..." She took a shuddering breath, "I wanted to just be Elincia. If only for one person, I didn't want to be a princess."

"I'm not mad, it's just that…oh god, the war! Boyd! I have to go back; they probably think I'm dead!" He groaned before quickly getting out of bed and pacing frantically around the room.

"But Ike, you're still injured! You haven't healed all the way! Surely you can stay here until you are better." At that moment Natasha came back into the room holding a neatly folded stack of clothing. A look of bewilderment crossed her face as Ike snatched the garments away from her and began hurriedly putting them on. "Ike please, think about-"

"I'm sorry princess…" The woman's eyes filled with unshed tears that balanced precariously on the edges of her lashes.

"Please, it is Elincia." She insisted.

"Elincia then, thank you for all you've done for me."

"Let me at least send an escort with you. Natasha, please call Gatrie and have him come here as quickly as possible." The servant nodded in understanding and rushed out of the room again.

"Elincia…" Ike whispered, moving closer to her and grasping her hand. To his surprise the young princess flung herself at him, burying her face in his shoulder. Awkwardly, the soldier wrapped his arms around the woman, trying to consol her as best he could. After a short time, she pulled away.

"Please be safe…" Ike smiled softly.

"I will. I promise."

* * *

The forest was denser than Seth had originally thought. There was no sign of the boy he was looking for anywhere. The only idea that the red haired captain had about the warrior's whereabouts was that he was supposedly headed towards the Lescallian fortress. Knowing Boyd however, Seth wouldn't have been surprised if he wound up back at the town they had originated in. To make matters worse, his horse was having significant trouble on the rough, root littered pathways that veined their way through the forest. 

Faintly ahead, Seth could see a small outline of the green haired boy in the trees. Urging his horse on faster, the captain quickly closed the distance between him and the young soldier. Boyd looked up in alarm when he noticed that he was no longer alone. He immediately reached for his trusty axe but stopped short when he saw the man who rode upon the horse in front of him. The man dismounted cleanly and stood before the baffled boy.

"What-" He began but was quickly cut off by the red haired rider.

"I can't allow you to go any further Boyd." He stated simply. "You're only going to get yourself killed and I won't permit it."

"But what about-"

"Ike," Seth interrupted again, "will be fine. You, however, will not if you try to take on an entire army on your own. We've already lost too many men, I won't lose you too."

"But you don't understand! If I'm able to get Ike back, then we'd have another soldier. It's a win-win situation!"

"_No_, it's not!" Seth responded harshly, grabbing the front of Boyd's shirt and pulling the boy closer to punctuate his point. The green haired warrior's eyes widened suddenly at the proximity and the tone of the other man. Never before had he seen his captain lose his cool, and never before had he thought that Seth would even think of harming him. But now he wasn't so sure what the captain was thinking. He seemed furious at first glance, but the boy could see something else, something he wasn't quite sure of what it was. "Now, you are going to come with me back to camp, and you are going to _stay there_ or God help me I will _make_ you stay." The man spoke in such a deadly calm that Boyd couldn't find it within him to make a sound. All he could do was nod dumbly at Seth.

The captain gently released Boyd from his grasp and grabbed the reins to his horse. The warrior placed a hand to his chest where his superior had held his shirt and clenched the material tightly. He had to keep himself from letting the air out of his lungs too loudly, should he upset his captain again. He hadn't even realized he'd been holding his breath.

* * *

**Yay! Another chapter! Ahem, please ignore any SethXBoyd moments you might see from here on out. If youre a fan of the pairing, tell me and i'll put more in. If you arent, dont worry, it wont be a major couple and they dont wind up together in the end. Its not even tragic, it winds up being slightly humorous. So thank you all again for reading! please review and have a wonderful day!**


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